Fake it or make it? The moon landing gets a Hollywood twist

There’s a lot to stream this month, and it’s thankfully not limited to another Housewives instalment or Young Rich and Famous part whatever. Some shows and films, across all services, are worth watching, with a measure of substance and quality.

An absolute must-watch is the Apple TV flick Fly Me to the Moon. It’s an epic, imaginative telling of the moon landing, the bloodshot eyes and nerves that preceded it, and the conspiracies surrounding it. And that is what this film masterfully weaves. It beautifully serves up a basket of reality with the conspiracy that Neil Armstrong never set foot on the moon.

The narrative goes that in 1968, NASA hired Kelly Jones, aka Scarlett Johannsen, a New York advertising executive and rising star on the circuit. In fact, it was a direct approach by a covert operative for then-US President-elect Richard Nixon.

The operative assigned her a very unusual project. It was a twofold mission that first demanded she ups the ante on NASA’s somewhat lacklustre public image and, secondly, hedges the nation’s bets by creating a fake moon landing film – just in case Armstrong’s Apollo 11 team never made it and never took one small step for man…

NASA’s bets hedged

It was Jones’s idea to broadcast the moon landing live. And Moe, the operative, was dead against it. He, instead, wanted the world to see a canned and sanitised version. In the months leading up to blast-off, though, Jones outdid herself.

She turned Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins into globally famous astronaut celebrities. The hype, the sponsorships, and the relentless public relations campaign to boost NASA’s profile paid dividends. She drove it hard.

It made a failed mission even tougher to contemplate.

Then there was Cole Davis, played by Channing Tatum, the no-nonsense launch director. Sparks fly immediately as Jones and Davis butt heads on almost every aspect of the campaign. He’s got his demons to fight because, beneath the surface, Davis’s own failed astronautical dreams simmer, driving a thread of jealousy in between the plot points.

Of course, Jones also has a closet full of skeletons, and Moe, Nixon’s guy, leveraged them to the hilt to get the Watergate president’s will done.

Watch the trailer:

So, with the help of an unknown but brilliant commercials director, Jones sets up the secret filming in a secured hangar, swearing everyone involved to absolute secrecy. However, her conscience began to trouble her, and all the while, her relationship with Cole gradually improved. Together, they conspired to broadcast the landing live, come what may, and attach a camera to the rocket.

Sabotage and intrigue on the moon

Moe got wind of this, and just before blast-off – as in a few minutes – Jones and Cole realised that the camera on board had been sabotaged. Nixon’s people wanted to go with the fake moon landing, regardless of whether it happened.

Cue loads of tense moments and drama… And when the moonwalk eventually happened, everyone involved in the deception was as confused about which version was being broadcast. But in the end, of course, as things go, the mission was a triumph celebrated across the globe. And the actual footage was broadcast.

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That’s the story in a nutshell, with loads of comedic moments and tender, emotional, and patriotic beats in between. It’s the kind of movie that only Hollywood can serve up. But it is wildly entertaining in a paced, predictable way. Just enough to not bore audiences to tears and not overtly intense to make binging this flick a no-pee-break event.

Scarlett Johannsen is spectacular

Scarlett Johannsen is as spectacular as Jones, again showcasing her versatility as an actor of the highest calibre. It’s a role that’s quirky, quarrelsome, and empowering. Tatum’s performance is as stoic and rigid as one would expect from a military official. Then there’s Woody Harrelson as Moe. And man, he’s come a long way since Cheers! Harrelson does the slippery Nixon guy thorough justice, down to the creepiness that ultimately tainted the Nixon presidency in history’s annals.

The film is beautifully shot, with rich imagery and visually engaging settings and pure eye candy.

Fly Me To The Moon is a great weekend watch.

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